Gemini: Book 4 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series) (7 page)

‘There’s too many people,’ I said, stepping forward.

When one of the men took out his gun, I changed my mind. I didn’t care if we got shot but if their bullets hurt anyone else, that would be unfair.

‘Just do it.’ Taurus grunted.

I closed my eyes briefly and sucked in a breath. My power had always been with me. I felt a hum of energy as I pictured a whirlwind in my mind. That’s all it took to start. My visualisation brought the wind down towards me. Opening my eyes, I held up my hand. Using my first two fingers, I spun them in a big circle. The mini tornado touched down in front of us. Nick’s men jumped back from the sudden onslaught of wind.

‘Well done,’ Taurus called.

He let the tree go. It was too small to do much damage anyway. Anyone that had been left in the street started to run at the sight of the tornado. It spun in front of me, waiting for me to make my move. A bullet whistled past my ear. I ducked, hoping that it missed Taurus too. I hadn’t even heard the gun being fired through the rushing of the wind.

‘Do something!’ Taurus shouted.

I thrust my hand away from me. The tornado struck three of the men. They yelped as it pushed them to the ground and held them there. The force of the wind was too strong to fight against, even though they tried.

If Nick was inside, we could go and get him. Taurus grabbed my shoulder, breaking my attention. I had been so wrapped up in my power, I hadn’t noticed the other men approach.

A gun was held near my head. The slight shake of the barrel told me that the man wasn’t as confident as he made out. Holding my other hand to the side of me, I flicked it as if I was slapping the air. A great gust of wind came in, wiping the man away from me. He crashed into the coffee shop window. The smash of glass made the other two men turn and run away. They were right to go. I wouldn’t stop until they left us alone.

‘We need to leave.’

A siren was drawing near. It seemed the police almost caught us every time we got into a new situation.

‘What about Nick?’

Taurus shook his head and pulled me. I dropped my hand. The mini tornado vanished. How many people were going to try and ruin my suit today?

‘We need to go.’ He glanced at the coffee shop. Luckily, no one was injured. Except for the man that had flown into it. He was knocked out on the ground.

I followed Taurus as we sprinted away from the hotel. The street was empty. We rushed around the corner as the police came into the road.

The car’s brakes slammed on. We ran down an alley and jumped into one of the gardens. They had seen us. They would probably give chase.

‘Hurry!’ Taurus shouted as I scrambled over a wooden fence.

They were shouting in the alley beside us. The police ran straight past where we had jumped. They obviously didn’t realise that we had gone into the gardens. My breath heaved as I pulled myself over another fence. The next alley was on the other side of a brick wall. It was higher than the previous fences.

‘We can’t get caught!’ Taurus glanced over his shoulder. The shouts had died down. Had the police gone?

‘There!’ I pointed at a tree.

Raising his arm, Taurus made the tree bend down by moving his hand down. We climbed on the thick branch. When he lifted his arm, I had to grab onto the branches and twigs to stay on as the tree slowly moved towards the wall. Taurus was fitter than me. He had started to train again.

His powers had come back since giving up drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately for me, I hadn’t given up my long nights of gambling.

‘Jump!’ Taurus growled.

I hovered, about to move. Taurus hopped off the tree and somehow landed in a crouch down in the alley. The tree started to shift back into its upright position. I let go, haphazardly flinging my body over the wall. My foot cracked against the brick as I fell. I landed heavily on Taurus. He grunted as I tumbled us to the ground.

‘You stupid-’

A shout in the distance made us get to our feet. I cried out when I put weight on my foot. It hurt. A lot.

‘What are you doing?’ Taurus huffed when I hobbled along behind him.

I pointed at my foot, unable to get enough breath to talk. He clenched his fists before turning and crouching in front of me. I hesitated for a second. Could I really let my brother carry me? I should be able to take care myself.

‘Do you want to get caught?’ His hissed words were almost drowned out by the running footsteps that drew nearer.

I grabbed onto his thick neck. He put his hands under my knees and piggy backed me out of the alley. His breath was already short. I had no idea how he could carry me, too.

‘We’re losing them,’ I said, catching a glimpse of the police going the other way.

Taurus couldn’t speak. He needed as much air as he could get. He spun around the corner and into another street. Dropping me when he saw a taxi, he hailed it down. I hobbled beside him as he dragged me. The driver didn’t say a word when I asked him to take us home. It was a close call.

Whatever happened next, we now had to worry about the police.

Chapter Nine

‘You’re on the bloody news!’

Aries threw his hands in the air. Taurus and I stood with our heads hanging forward. The kitchen bustled as the others cooked dinner. It had been a long day. All I wanted to do was relax in the bath. I had so many problems to worry about. The main one being Liam and his money.

‘You’ve been pretty bashed up today,’ Pisces said, handing me a can of lager.

Smiling at her, I nodded my thanks. My face was swollen from the beating. My ankle was throbbing from hitting the wall. There wasn’t much more I could face.

‘I’m going to bring Mother and Father together,’ Aries announced.

The thought of us all being under the same roof again made me cringe even more. ‘Why?’

My simple question made Aries blink. He didn’t like his authority questioned.

‘Because we’re losing sight of what we’re trying to do. Worrying about them is making it harder for us to concentrate on our mission.’

Taurus grunted as he scratched his head. It was nice to see that he hadn’t changed his character too much. Being with Kerry had made him a better person but it didn’t completely change him. Not like Aries.

‘Whatever, can I go now?’ I was like a young child asking permission to leave.

The others giggled as I rolled my eyes and left them to it. They would save me dinner. First, I needed to get my feet out of my smart shoes.

My phone beeped as I pulled off my sock. The graze on my ankle was nothing compared to the swelling. The skin and muscle bulged around the bone. Reaching to get my phone from the bedside table, I winced at the state of my face when I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror. My lip was bruised and cut. My jaw was bright red. It would be purple by the morning.

I didn’t recognise the phone number when I opened the message. It simply said
Sorry
.

Texting to ask who it was, I took my phone into the bathroom with me. The water filled the bathtub quickly. I stripped and climbed into the steaming liquid. The heat encased me. For the first time all day, I relaxed my muscles. My phone beeped again. I wiped my hand on a towel and read the message.

It’s Athena. Thank you for not making things worse with Liam.

My heart jumped at her name. How did she get my number? If Liam knew she was texting me, he would go mental. I hoped she was good at hiding her phone. Instead of texting her back, I saved the number and rang it.

‘Hello?’

‘Should you be contacting me?’ The slight hitch in her breath made me smile. I had surprised her.

‘No. I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did.’

‘Wait, don’t hang up.’

The panic in her voice made me want to soothe her.

‘Why did you ring me? I wanted to apologise and I did, so…’

‘Is Liam with you?’ I splashed the bubbles as they gathered at the bottom end of the bath. Her sigh led me to believe that she had resigned herself to a conversation with me.

‘Yeah, he’s lying right next to me right now, listening in.’

‘Really?’

‘No.’

Her small giggle made me shake my head. She was a contradictory woman. One minute she was confident and full of herself, the next she was a damsel in distress. No matter how hard I tried not to, she was starting to make me think about her.

‘I hurt myself today. Will you come and give me a massage?’

She went silent. The echo of my voice in the bathroom died down.

‘It will cost you,’ she said, her voice dropping into a seductive tone.

Did that mean that Liam hired her? Or was he actually her man? I had never paid for a woman. There was no need to. In my business, women came with the territory. A nice woman seeking a rich man could always be fooled. My smart suit and charming attitude could persuade any of them that I was the real deal.

‘How about you give me a freebie? Try before I buy.’

‘You couldn’t afford me anyway. You’re just a little boy, trying to play with the big boys. You deserve what you got today.’

The phone beeped as the call ended. She had hung up. Why did she get angry? What had I said? I tried to call her back but she wouldn’t pick up. Shaking my head, I sent her a quick text.

Hey, Beautiful, don’t be like that. I like talking to you.

She didn’t reply so I put the phone down and sunk under the water. The sting of my face as the hot liquid touched my bruised skin reminded me what I had taken for her. I sat up and grabbed my phone again.

You owe me for today. Let me take you out.

She could at least let me wine and dine her. I had taken a beating so she wasn’t hurt any more than she already had been. The events of the day played out in my head as I laid back. The steam from the water circled above my head. I held up my hand and swayed my fingers back and forth. The very slight breeze that my hand created made the steam billow and move in time with my fingers. I had no idea how I controlled my power.

Taurus had explained that he felt into the energy of all growing plants and trees. Aries said that he pulled his fire from inside. I didn’t do anything. I moved my hands, thought of wind and it did my bidding.

Staring at my phone, I waited for Athena’s reply. I couldn’t remember a time when my charm hadn’t worked on someone. It was a bit disconcerting.

‘Gemini? Can you hurry up? I want to wash before I go to bed,’ Virgo called through the door.

I huffed as I climbed out of the bath. There was no point in trying to relax, my siblings wouldn’t allow it.

It was unusual for me to be in the house at that time of night. I was usually in the casinos. It was better that I stopped lazing around and got on with my work. The laptop waited for me. I had to make some money and fast.

‘I need to go for a wee,’ Leo moaned outside.

‘I have to wash,’ Virgo replied.

I unplugged the bath as I listened to them.

‘Okay, I’ll use the kitchen sink,’ Leo said.

Virgo shrieked. ‘No, you won’t!’

‘Okay, okay, let go!’

I wrapped a towel around my waist and opened the door. Virgo was on her tiptoes. Her arm was stretched high, her fingers pinching Leo’s ear.

‘Thanks.’ Leo spun out of Virgo’s grip and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Her loud exhale of breath was followed by a mini scream. Shaking my head, I made my way to my room and left them to their bickering. Even through the bathroom door, Virgo and Leo argued.

My foot throbbed as I hobbled along. The door stood open. Taurus and Kerry lounged on the bed, watching a film on the television.

‘You should probably get that looked at,’ Kerry said as I lowered myself on the bed and inspected my ankle.

‘Are you not off to the casino tonight?’ Taurus asked.

I flipped open my laptop and sat against the headboard. I wasn’t used to sleeping in a single bed. The amount of Zodiacs in one house meant that we could only have single beds. Aries sometimes slept over at Natalie’s but there still wasn’t enough room.

‘Where’s Aquarius?’ I said, ignoring him.

It was my room too; I didn’t need to explain myself when I was actually in it. I missed the comfort of a luxury apartment or hotel room. I needed to reign in my sleeping around habit. It made me a man of luxury with no money.

‘Finishing his dinner.’ Kerry got off the bed and came to look at my foot. I had it elevated on a pillow.

‘Put some clothes on, mate,’ Taurus said.

He was obviously worried that his woman would like my body as she inspected my injury.

‘Leave him alone,’ Kerry defended.

I signed in to the casino sites and checked my account balance. There was roughly a thousand pounds combined. I could risk losing it on the slots or use it towards Liam’s money. I still needed to make several thousand pounds. I had to risk it.

‘Still working?’ Kerry said, laughing when I swore.

My first spin lost me a tenner.

‘I’m not sure that’s the right word,’ I muttered.

Taurus stood and pulled Kerry away from me. I ignored them as they left to make a hot drink. My money went down as I spun the wheels on the slot games.

‘I managed to do a bit of covering up around the hotel,’ Aquarius said when he came into the room.

I glanced up to meet his dark brown gaze. He started to unbutton his suit shirt. He was the technical man of the group, a corporate engineer.

‘What happened with Nick when everything went down? Did he stay in the hotel?’ I hadn’t been interested when I first got back, but now that I had calmed, I could listen to what happened.

‘He stayed in the hotel, only leaving after the police had been and gone.’

I smiled as I won a hundred pounds on a spin. Even though I had lost more than that already, it felt good to actually get something back.

My phone beeped. Aquarius climbed into his bed and closed his eyes. We were used to sleeping while others made noise. It had been something we had done since we were children. A flashback to a different time reminded me when we would all play, laugh and not have a care in the world. It had changed.

Maybe one day.
The text read when I opened it.

I smirked. It had taken Athena a while to come back but she knew I was right. She owed me and I would collect my debt.